“La Ecstase” [ft. Lamusa II]

Dilated pupils, sweat, flesh touching flesh: These images come to mind when Marie Davidson allows us entry to her late-night world. Between an album as one half of Essaie Pas and her own solo record, Working Class Woman, it’s been a busy year for the Montréal-based producer. Still, she returns once again with “La Ecstase,” a collaboration with a brand new partner-in-crime, the Italian DJ Lamusa II, from Davidson’s new 12'', So Right. Sleep doesn’t seem to be an option for Davidson, but she addresses her exhaustion here the way she does best: with a massive, evil grin.

“La Ecstase” hits that sweet spot when you’ve been at the club for far too long but know there’s no going back. Atop a blend of left-field synth work and macho Italo disco energy, Davidson explores desire on the dancefloor: “At 6 in the morning/I’m having fun,” she sings in both French and Italian with the bluntness of a butter knife. When Davidson sings, the tone of her voice is deeply rooted with unease. She’s dancing with someone, supposedly enjoying herself, but there’s something about that way of being that feels incomplete. We get an answer in French right before the darkwave-tinted electronics begin to dissipate: “In a metropolis/Without money/It’s tough to live/Against the current.” It’s a ruthlessly anti-capitalist sentiment. Fun, ecstasy, life in the space of the club—it all comes with a price.